traditional vs modern

1. Traditional Biotechnology
Advantages Disadvantages
Without the traditional biotech, there won’t be modern
biotechnology.Modificationbymicroorganismof materials
for human use. Traditional biotechnology is centered by
active techniqueswhichhavegreatefficiencyandaccuracy.
Cheaper, and useful at lower cost
Selective Breeding- immenselysuccessful,andindeedare
largely responsible for the high yields associated with
contemporaryagriculture.Formultigenetraitslikeintrinsic
yield and drought resistance, they surpass genetic
engineering.Thisisbecauseselectivebreedingoperateson
whole organisms—complete sets of coordinated genes—
while geneticengineeringisrestrictedtothreeorfourgene
transfers with little control over where the new genesare
inserted. For the most important agronomic traits,
traditional breeding remains the technology of choice.
Biotechnology allows crops to grow in different climates.
There is an incredible amountof landon thisplanetthat is
under-utilized for growing food. Through the science of
biotechnology, it becomes possible to take advantage of
colder, shorter growing seasons so that more overall
calories can be produced from a global perspective.
Fermentation of Microorganisms - produce wine, beer,
and cheese.
It reducesthe damage to foodsbecause of pest invasions.
Biotechnology can help to design plants that are naturally
resistanttothe pestsanddiseasesthatmayaffectanentire
crop supply.Thisallowsfora more guaranteedcrop on an
annual basisnomatterwhatthe weatherorpestconditions
of an area might be.
Use of biological organisms in agriculture and industrial
process: Fermentation of fruit juice into wine, grain into
beer.Conversionof milkintocheese/yogurt.Productionof
Bread. Sewage Solid waste treatment. Production of
antibiotics
It increases the nutritional value of the foods that are
produced.
Biotechnology can help to enhance the vitamins and
minerals that are eaten everyday so people have a better
overall diet without making additional lifestyle changes.
Thismeansthatmore peoplecanbe fedwithoutfewerfood
products and this could work to end world hunger.
Industry also uses microorganisms to produce various
products such as enzymes for use in laundry detergents.
Food processing: Fermented foods, Brewery, Dairy
products, etc. The process of brewing beer: conversionof
starch to sugar followed by addition of specific yeast
Agriculture: Modifications of living plants for improved
yield of food crops via artificial selection and hybridization
ex) Crops with reduced vulnerability to frost, draught, and
the cold
As humans discovered more plant varieties and traits or
characteristics, they gradually became adept at breeding
specific plant varieties over several years and sometimes
generations, to obtain desired traits such as disease
resistance, better taste and higher yield. With the
domestication of animals, ancient farmers applied the
same breeding techniques to obtain desired traits among
animals over generations.
Examples of traditional biotechnology techniques include
selective breeding, hybridization and fermentation.
Products have better taste and higher yield. As farmers,
humans collected wild plants and cultivated them and the

2. best yielding strains were selected for growing the
following seasons.
Traditional biotechnologysuchas cross-pollinationincorn
produces numerous, non-selective changes. Genetic
modifications have produced fruits that can ripen on the
vine for better taste, yet have longer shelf lives through
delayedpectindegradation.Tomatoes and other produce
containing increased levels of certain nutrients, such as
vitamin C, vitamin E, and or beta carotene, and help
protect against the risk of chronic diseases, such as some
cancers and heart disease.Similarlyintroducinggenesthat
increase available ironlevelsinrice three-foldisapotential
remedy for iron deficiency, a condition that effects more
than two billion people and causes anemia in about half
that number.
Can reduce the possibility of disease
It may cause other plants to be modified unexpectedly.
All plants have some level of cross-pollination that occurs.
When plants that have been engineered through
biotechnologycome intocontactwith“normal”plants,the
hybrids that are created may not be sustainable.
Biotechnology firms have even sued farmers who have
sufferedfromcross-pollinationincircumstanceslikethese.
Biotechnologycreatesplantsthattapintomoreof the soil’s
resourcesanddrainsitsabilitytocontinuegrowingcropsin
the future. Even when crop rotations are used, it can take
several years for crop lands to recover from just 2-3 years
of biotechnology enhanced crops being grown.
There is no cost-savings that occurs.
It costs just as much to grow plants or livestock that have
been engineered through biotechnology as it does regular
plants. This means that the farmer still has the same costs
and so does the consumer.
A wide range of traditional methods have long been used
to detect pollutants,
including microbial and chemical analyses. More recently
improved
biological detection methods include biosensors and
immunoassays. Such
sensors can be designed to be highly selective or sensitive
to a wide range of
compounds, e.g. pesticides. Microbial biosensors are
microorganisms that
produce a reaction (such as luminescence) upon contact
with the substance
to be sensed.

3. Traditional biotechnology has established a huge and
expanding world
market, and in monetary terms representsa major part of
all biotechnology
financial profits.‘New’aspectsof biotechnologyfoundedin
recent advances
inmolecularbiology,geneticengineeringandfermentation
process technology
are now increasingly finding wide industrial application. A
breadth
of relevant biological and engineering knowledge and
expertise is ready
to be putto productive use;butthe rate at whichit will be
applied will
depend less on scientific or technical considerations and
more on such factors
as adequate investment by the relevant industries,
improved systems
of biological patenting, marketing skills, the economics of
the new methods
in relation to currently employed technologies and,
possibly of most
importance, public perception and acceptance.
Modern Technology
Advantages Disadvantages
A good example is monoclonal antibodies (highlyspecific
preparations of antibodies that bind to a single site on a
protein), which have many diagnostic applications,
including home pregnancy testing kits. Many
biotechnology companies are engaged in these
sophisticated, but noncontroversial, technologies.
Mammalian cloningis a newbiotechnologythatdoesnot
involve gene modification, but is nevertheless highly
controversial. Cloning reproduces adult mammals by
transplanting a nucleus from adult cells into an egg from
whichthe nucleushasbeenremovedandallowingthe egg
todevelopinasurrogate manner.Theresultingindividuals
are as similar to the adults from which the nuclei were
takenas identical twinsare to one another.Althoughthis
procedure has profound implications for human
reproduction, it does not modify specific traits of an
individual,butrathertransfersawhole nucleuscontaining
a complete set of genetic information.
Genetic engineering, a technology based on the artificial
manipulation and transfer of genetic material. This
technology can move genes and the traits they dictate
across natural boundaries—from one type of plant to
another, from one type of animal to another, and even
from a plant to an animal or an animal to a plant. Cells
modified by these techniques pass the new genes and
traits on to their offspring. Genetic engineering can apply

4. to any kind of living organism from microorganisms to
humans.
Geneticengineeringcanbe appliedtohumansto replace
or supplement defective genes. Where engineering is
intended to cure disease, it is called gene therapy.
Potential applicationsthatare notrelatedtodisease,such
as the modification of traits like height, are sometimes
called genetic enhancement. Currently, most genetic
engineering of humans is done on nonreproductive or
somaticcells,like those frombone marrow.The effectsof
thissomatic cell gene therapyare confinedto the treated
individual. By contrast, germ line gene therapy would
modify reproductive cells, so that the modification could
be passed on to future generations.
- Increased food safety
- Enhanced nutritional composition of foods
- Food with even more health benefits
- Reduction of certain chronic diseases related to diet
-Allergies
- Toxicity
- Nutrient imbalance
- Decrease of food diversity
By the application of genetic engineering, organoleptic
propertiesandexpirationdate of certaingrainswere able
to improve. Delaying the rotting process of fruit and
vegetables provides better quality, taste, color and
texture.Withthe helpof geneticengineeringitispossible
to create foodswithgreateramountof minerals,vitamins
and antioxidants. Also, by increasing crop yields
deforestation is prevented, and, the most important for
the developing countries, economic development is
accelerated.
There are concerns that the use of genetic engineeringin
the food industry can increase sensitivity to certain
allergens. In fact, the transfer of allergenic propertiesof
donor can be transferred to recipient. Foreign genes can
disruptthe balance of nutrients.The questionishowthat
changes will affect:
- Interaction of nutrients
- Interaction between nutrients and genes
- Bioavailability of nutrients
- Metabolism and
- "Strength" of nutrients.
Developments in cloning and in the science and
technology of stem cells offer additional tools for
biotechnology.Inpopularunderstanding,cloningisusually
seenasa technique of reproduction,andof course itdoes
have that potential. The birth of Dolly, the cloned sheep,
announced in 1997, was a surprising achievement that
suggests that any mammal, including human beings, can
be created from a cell taken from a previously existing
individual. Many who accept reproductive technology
generally, including such techniques as in vitro
fertilization, found themselves opposing human
reproductive cloning, but they are not sure how to
distinguish between the two in religiously or morally
compelling ways.
1. Killing viruses
2. Creating vaccines
3. Gene therapy
4. Cancer treatment
5. Diabetes treatment